


Flightless Bird

by Tea_and_Deerstalkers



Category: Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Loss of Virginity, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Sandor Marries Sansa
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-30
Updated: 2016-07-01
Packaged: 2018-07-19 07:50:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,330
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7352359
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tea_and_Deerstalkers/pseuds/Tea_and_Deerstalkers
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sansa and Sandor are arranged to be married, and neither are that upset with the arrangement.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'm sorry, I'm sorry... I'm sorry...  
> I'm a sad fangirl with a dream... an overdone, worn out idea of a dream...  
> Leave me alone!

Joffrey's image of Sansa had lowered over the past few months, no longer wasting his men's time ordering them to beat her, merely shoving her to the ground when he passed her in the corridors or the hall. Sadly, his disinterest did not mean he would let her go, she was a valuable prisoner in the grand scheme of things and would come in handy when the time came to take the north. But in order to keep her close, he needed to weed her to someone already loyal to the house. He wouldn't marry her to anyone of any real status, just high enough to further imprison her.  
The ‘cruel’ pairing came as a suggestion from his beloved Margaery one day as they watched the guards sparring in the yard.  
“Your Grace” she sang, holding onto his arm. “Have you yet decided what to do with the Stark girl?”  
“Not yet” he huffed tiredly “the girl isn't fit for a notable marriage, I'm wondering if I should just throw her to my dogs and be done with it-”  
“That's an amazing suggestion” the young woman blinked, turning to him.  
“What is?” Joffrey said slowly, turning to her.  
“Well... of course, the house that is sworn to serve you, your dog” she smiled sweetly. Joffrey looked out at the men, seeing the giant form of The Hound as he strode out across the yard, barking orders as the younger men. Joffrey quickly turned to his betrothed.  
“Of course” he swallowed “that is if he doesn't tear her apart on their wedding night” he smirked wickedly. Margaery covered her mouth as her shoulders shook with forced laughter.

That is how Sansa found herself pulled from her chambers and brought to the great hall to stand in front of the king and queen-to-be.  
“As you well know” Joffrey smiled, lounging on the iron throne. “With the rest of your family dead-” those words still brought a sting to Sansa's eyes “-that leaves you as the only remaining Stark, and the heir to Winterfell, whatever ruined state that may be in by now...” the young lady wrung her hands as he spoke, glancing up at the guards either side of him, more drawn to the larger man, The Hound, to his right. “In order to keep you loyal, I have decided that I will put you in the hands of someone who will keep you on a leash” a heavy pit formed in Sansa's stomach, he was giving her away, giving her hand someone else... what cruel lord would she be forced to be with now? Joffrey raised a hand and gestured to his side.  
“Clegane” he smirked, causing the large man to turn.  
Sansa felt her stomach drop, the thought of being forced into another marriage made her feel even more like a prisoner. She looked up at the beast of a man and felt torn, although he terrified her in her childhood, made her cry more often than not, he had never truly done anything to hurt her. And in a sick way, he was the closest thing to a friend he had here.  
Since coming to King's Landing, she had learned to no longer fear Sandor Clegane, but that did not necessarily mean she wanted to marry him, and by the look on his face, he wasn't happy with the arrangement either.  
More was said about the arrangements, but Sansa didn't listen. She didn't have to know what was going to happen, she knew her place, and she knew she had no control over the proceedings.  
Joffrey ordered for her to be taken back to her room, where she was quickly stolen away by Margaery. She took her for a walk through the gardens where she hung onto the young woman's arm.  
"I'm sorry" She muttered, looking into Sansa's eyes.  
"For what, my lady?" The Stark girl smiled, meeting her gaze.  
"I must admit I had a part to play in this arranged marriage..." The Tyrell sighed, leading them deeper into the flowers. "But I don't want you to think ill of me, I did what I thought was best..."  
"I don't understand" Sansa frowned, the older woman sighing and shaking her head a little.  
"The king had some truly ghastly plans for you... none of them good... I could not allow him to continue any further. The least cruel plan he had was to marry you to someone close, so he may have a claim on the north... so I suggested The Hound..." Sansa turned to her, giggling softly. "What is funny?" Margaery frowned "Sansa, the man is a beast"  
"He is a frightening man, but not a beast" The redhead chuckled, shaking her head. "He is coarse and crude, nothing like the knights and princes I used to dream of... but then neither is Joffrey..."  
"I understand" The older woman nodded. "So you are... happy?"  
"I didn't say that..." Sansa said quickly, pulling her on through the gardens. "No... I am not unhappy with the arrangement, but it could be worse... It's just something I will have to bear... I suppose there would be a worse punishment if I had refused"

A week had passed since then, and the only indication that she was to be married was the cheap, white gown that had been brought to her room along with an ugly dark cloak, trimmed with coarse black fur. It was meant as a mockery of her father's cloak, but she saw past that and gave it new meaning, the rough and heavy material reminding her of her husband to be's armor, the thick fur his dark hair if he were the dog Joffrey called him. She turned it over in her hands, and on the back was a poor attempt at her sigil. She retrieved her sewing kit from her chest and laid out her wedding outfit, altering a few things here and there where it hadn't been made to her size. She added a few pieces of broken jewelry to the front of the bodice, ripping some lace from one of her underskirts and attaching it to her gown before finally working to fix the sigil.


	2. Chapter 2

As time went on, Sansa realized that she hadn't seen her betrothed. She usually caught him in the halls on patrol, out in the yard sparring. But since that day in the great hall, he'd been missing.  
One morning she made it her mission to find him. She woke early, taking her money with her with the intent of going to buy a few more things she needed for her gown. She made her way down to the courtyard, seeing a few guards preparing for their patrols when she spotted him, over a head taller than anyone else, making his way across towards the stables. She hiked up her skirts a little, hurrying to catch him.  
She finally found him tending to Stranger, brushing through his long mane. He was on his own, his shoulders not as squared, and his voice soft as he talked to the animal.  
"I haven't seen you" She commented simply, almost making him jump. The large man turned to her for a moment, sighing.  
"You shouldn't be in here..." He mumbled.  
"Have you been avoiding me?" She asked, walking over to him. The horse grunted in disapproval, stepping back a bit, but Sandor soothed him, stroking his neck.  
"Why would I avoid you?" He smirked, still looking at his horse.  
"I don't know, that is why I'm asking" Sansa replied, pleased that he was actually talking to her.  
"Why are you here, little bird?" He sighed, meeting her eyes.  
"Because... we are arranged to be married... and that means we will have to spend at least some time together..." She explained, playing with her purse. "I know you aren't happy with the arrangement" That earned a bark of laughter from the large man.  
"Why are you really here?" He asked again.  
"I was going into town and was wondering if you would come with me?" She blinked, tilting her head a little, earning a bitter smirk from her husband to be.  
"Aye, you want your guard dog with you. I guess that's the one good thing to come from this marriage..."  
"If that makes you feel better to think that way" Sansa frowned. "I was simply inviting you..." And with that she turned on her heel, making her way out of the stable.  
She walked for a few minutes and thought he wasn't going to follow her, then there were heavy footsteps behind her, his large strides quickly catching up.

They walked in silence for a while, Sansa leading the way down into the markets to find some more lace. She couldn't destroy any more underskirts for the sake of her dress, she was forced to buy some.  
After the third stall, Sandor spoke.  
"What are you making?" He asked, almost under his breath as she inspected some lace trim, holding it to the pale skin of her wrist to get an idea of the colour.  
“A surprise” She mumbled, putting it back and inspecting another. “You will see on our wedding night...”  
The older man grunted something she couldn’t hear before disappearing. She hadn’t noticed until she’d paid for the lace and looked around, spotting him off in the distance. She rolled the lace up and put it in her purse before chasing after him, following him down to the bay.  
“Is everything alright?” She asked as he found a low wall to sit, letting her join him.  
“I know you’re not happy,” He said quietly, looking out at the water.  
“What makes you say that?” Sansa frowned, looking up at the scarred side of his face.  
“Because you’re not… You are being forced to marry an ugly old dog… You’re safe from the king, but it just means you are trapped in a different way…” He explained, wondering why he was opening up to her. He never could hide anything from her, it felt too much like lying. Sansa shook her head, looking out to see what he was watching, finding nothing interesting on the horizon.  
“It’s not ideal… no” She agreed, feeling him stiffen beside her before quickly adding. “But I am happy…” She heard a snort and looked up to see a bitter smirk on his face. There was that same hurt in his eyes that he’d seen when Joffrey had announced their arrangement. “I’m sorry…” She said quietly, causing him to turn again.  
“Why are you sorry?” He asked  
“Because…” She sighed, shaking her head. “I know how cynical you are… that you don’t believe in love, or that anyone could care for you… But I feel that I’ve taken away your chance to marry if you ever meet someone”  
That earned a harsh bark of ugly laughter from the man, his body actually shaking from the effort.  
“Oh yes, you’ve stolen my chance at true love…” He roared. Sansa pouted a little, looking out at the ships again.  
“I am not sad about being married to you,it’s” She said sternly, ignoring his chuckling. “Only the situation of being forced into it… I always hoped one day of meeting the man I loved and we would court like in the stories… But I have known for a long time now that those stories are lies…” Sandor turned to her, the hurt in his eyes gone now. “You are the closest I believe I will come to loving someone that is not my family… you have done a great deal for me in my time here, and I know you have always had my best interests in mind…”  
There was a cold silence for a while before Sandor got to his feet.  
“We should be going...” He mumbled, not meeting her eyes anymore.  
“I hope you won’t avoid me before the wedding” Sansa sighed, standing with him.

The Hound escorted her back to the castle, leaving her to walk back to her room as he wandered back the way they had just come from.  
No-one was going to call for her that afternoon, which left her free to finish her sewing. She sat by the window and enjoyed the afternoon sun, thinking about their talk. There was something behind Sandor’s words that she could not yet understand. The man somehow found a way to lie to her without ever saying an untruthful word. How did he appear so miserable and at the same time, seem so comfortable around her?  
She sewed late into the night, finally having to light the fire in her room, bringing all her candles to the table to see her needlework.  
Suddenly there was a knock at the door and she placed her work down, moving to the door to open it. One of the handmaidens that used to serve her stood with a small parcel in her hands.  
“I’m sorry for disturbing you, my lady” She muttered. “I was told you bring this to you…” She held out the gift, handing it to Sansa before bowing her head and disappearing down the hall. Sansa hadn’t had a chance to ask who had sent her, and it was too late now. She closed the door and moved back to her chair by the fire, opening the parcel. Inside was a length of ivory lace and a small charm of a bird, coloured with a red enamel. She held the small bird up to the light and watched the flames dance its reflective surface. There was only one person who could’ve bought it for her and it brought a painful tug to her heart. She inspected the lace and realized that there wasn’t enough to add any of it to her dress, but it seemed such a shame not to use her gift, so she set it to one side and swore to herself that she would find some way of wearing it to her wedding.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've had some lovely comments from people, I'm glad most of you are liking it :)


End file.
